When metals attack

Here's the last of the Smurfs... I think.

Hopefully the next experiment in metallic paints won't be too far away.  I think it will still involve mixing the metallic paints and regular paints...

The Sarge

Time for another of the Smurf Termies.  I am not quite sure when the next experiment in metallics might be, but there are a few projects that are candidates.

I will be curious to see how all that would turn out.  For the moment, I would assume that terrain will continue to be the testing ground.

Another view of the squad...

Shiny too...

Years ago, I had a task to match some Smurfs, which was a little unusual.  I had to use metallic paints in some limited ways, which was certainly different for me!

I found that a lot of what I was doing with my glazes could be transferred to the very alien type of paint.  It would certainly not me my first choice of material, since as a 'regular' two dimensional painter, there are no such things as metallic paint.

Since then, I have used metallic on other limited projects.  I have taken to mixing them with regular paints, especially on terrain pieces.  This gives some interesting results!

The last one...

OK, here's the last of the Command guys :-)

Then, it's on to the termies... with actual metallics, believe it or not!

Blue skies...

Yes, more blue guys.  Two by two, hands of blue...

These were certainly some hefty hunks of metal, as all the command figures were!

The ghost of bases past...

Here are some images of bases I made ling ago for some terminators (pics coming tomorrow) using some very simple materials.

Nothing terribly fancy.  Just some cork, some bits, some glue, some grass, and some paint.  I have made some bases that are so incredibly complex, I forget at times that even very basic stuff like this can be effective.

I guess I am after very specific themes with my bases, trying to set a story for every army.  Obviously, these are quite generic, all purpose stuff.

Still, basic can still be purty! :-)

Still feeling blue?

Well, exploring through the archives I found a ton of Smurfs!  Just in time for a new codex.

I will start with some command figures, and then move on to some terminators.

I had lots of fun with this base!

Smurf Tanks...

Here's a few views of some Vindicators I painted a while back.  It was very interesting, as I had to use metallic paints to match previous stuff they had painted.

That was really the biggest challenge.

Here's a few WIP images...

And a few finished images!

Happy New Year to all Wappellians!!

While 2012 was a year of persistent, extreme challenges for us, the one sustaining element was this blog.  I never expected it to take on a life of its own, as it has.  As this year comes to a close, and the blog nears its 11th month of existence, I extend my gratitude to everyone who has visited and participated in this endeavor!!

2013 holds a great deal of hope for us.  Many of you know about the Kickstarter program that we have been working on furiously for a few months now.

I have run into snags as I try to get things underway, but the ultimate goal is to come up with a better product right off the bat.  Pushing that through is my goal for this upcoming week.

As far as these minis go, I am pretty sure that I had never painted a "beakie" marine until these guys :-)

Here are some group shots...

Once again, Best Wishes for the New Year, and many thanks for taking the time to look at this blog.

Feeling blue on New Year's eve?

Well, in that case, bring in the Smurfguard.  This was a set of figures I painted 3-4 years ago, part of a batch of Ultramarines.  It was unusual in that I had to match some very specific colors that were used on previously painted figures

It was also a very different style than I was used to.  I had to use some metallic paints, in fact.

I have some more images of the other Sternguard figures that I will post later.  Happy New Year to all the folks who are in that earlier time zone!!!

Every so often...

Every once in a while, I end up having to use metallic paints.  All the Ultramarine stuff I did in the case of this army required metallic paints to match what had already been done by another painter.  It is definitely not my preferred medium, but every so often, it does provide some interesting perspective on my usual NMM style.

Since the lightest metallic paints are a dingy gray, that can wreak some havoc with the usual contrasts that I look for in my painting.  I only found this out recently, during another metallic experiment.  I had it on my white paper palette, and I was shocked at how dark it appeared!  I guess it is all about the light refractions to give it the lighter appearance.

Smurfguard!

This was a more difficult assignment than one would think.  Like most of the previous Ultramarines posted here to the blog, I had to match a very specific color scheme.  Also, this scheme did not have very much high contrast shading... it was all about the tiny highlights, and even those needed to be done in a very specific color. 

Typically, I am grabbing whatever paint jar happens to be closest, and fooling around with the glazes and such.

Essentially, each guy was restricted to 3 shades of blue.  Also, I could not do my usual heavy shading, creating lots of contrast throughout the miniature.  It was really working against my instinct, that's for sure! :-)













Here are a few WIP shots.  The approach here was a little different than what you have seen lately on the free-wheeling Chaos side.  That was due to having to match someone else's color scheme.

 



And then some more group shots: